Prevent Turning
Folklore gives us a wealth of ways to prevent a corpse from sitting up. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin nibh sapien, semper maximus arcu at, lobortis feugiat nisi. Donec fermentum ultrices suscipit. Phasellus id facilisis metus, nec viverra lacus. Nullam a sapien accumsan, ullamcorper nisi in, pellentesque nibh. Mauris suscipit consectetur venenatis. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec eu lorem et lacus tristique fermentum at eu sapien. Nullam mollis dignissim ultrices. Sed accumsan tellus massa, sed malesuada lectus lobortis eget. Etiam pulvinar eros nec nulla eleifend vehicula. Integer convallis ultricies rutrum. In sodales, nisl ut fermentum malesuada, mauris augue vehicula augue, sit amet pellentesque nisl velit at sapien. Phasellus ornare dui vitae mi aliquam, eu rhoncus magna pretium. Sed at massa id lorem sollicitudin ultricies et non turpis. Suspendisse turpis orci, ultricies vitae varius sit amet, pellentesque ac quam. In id lorem arcu. Achacachi * Place: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile * Main Article: In the Andes mountains local people brew a potion, partially garlic and some 15-20 other herbs, mildly alcoholic (you'll get a buzz but not drunk) that is used as a treatment and preventative against both Life Stealing and Fat Stealing vampires. Brick in the Mouth * Place: the UK, Europe, USA, Canada * Main Article: While bricks in the mouth have been mostly folkloric, in 2010 proof of it as a practice was found. Now there are several archeological papers published every year (some 300 instances have been found as of 2017). The most dramatic was the body of an elderly woman who had had an entire brick shoved into her mouth during burial. More often pieces of bricks are found. The thought behind it was that vampires "chew" the clothing or veils or shrouds that they are buried with as energy while they transform. The brick would prevent chewing. Sometimes larger chunks of bricks were pushed in so violently that the teeth were broken and the lower jaw was dislocated. Burial Rites * Place: Global * Main Article: Whatever the local customs regarding burial / funerals are, follow them and the dead won't return. It's not just a chance for the family and friends to say goodbye, but a time to give the spirit directions to the Afterlife. Clean the Bones * Place: Central America, some parts of Africa, some parts of Asia * Main Article: Dig up the corpse once there has been a decent time for the body to decay, wash, bless and rebury the bones. Coins * Place: Greece, Italy, some parts of Europe and the UK, USA * Main Article: Probably the most famous of the Greco-Roman burial traditions. You know the story; the spirit of the dead must pay the ferryman 2 coin to transport them to the afterlife. Generally it is shown as placing a penny on each eye, while some stories combine it with a stone in the mouth and place the coins under the tongue. The tradition continues to the modern day in some European countries and some Catholic towns. Cremation * Place: Global * Main Article: No body, no vampire. Curse Un-Do * Place: Europe * Main Article: Be sure that you are on good terms with your parents / guardians. They have the ability to curse you to become a vampire and it can only be recanted as they die. So last minute reconciliations are a must. Embalming * Place: * Main Article: During the late 19th century, embalming was perfected in the United States and exported the world over. Second only to Cremations as preventing vampires the process removes the blood and bile and most of the internal organs from the body, thus making it impossible for a transformation to occur. In popular fiction and in a handful of misunderstandings, embalming has also caused a couple cies of Saints and a fear of an Undead. With careful embalming, the body can last a solid decade or longer. There are at least three well known embalmed bodies going on a century. People forget that xyz was emballed and either a tree falls over or the cemetery is being worked on and they find an intact old ass corpse. Fill the Coffin with Sand / Seeds * Place: * Main Article: Particularly where the local traditions hold that vampires are OCD. Pouring some sand or seeds into the coffin with the body will condemn the vampire to remain in it's grave counting, sorting, recounting and sometimes eating one grain/seed at a time for all eternity. Food / Drink * Place: * Main Article: Sometimes bribery does with the undead. You can bury them with a sandwich or a bottle of booze and should they transform, they wont come after the person who gave them the stuff. Sometimes you can leave some at the headstone, after the funeral and enjoy the same benefits. Gold Mouthpiece * Place: Old Rome * Main Article: Archaeological digs have only turned up a handful of examples, but a few were in good enough shape that faint engravings could be seen. They are about an inch and a half long by a half an inch wide and seem to have been a very high end alternative to stones in the mouth. While the engravings and stamped on designs have so far been unreadable (sand and dirt worn away much of it) it is suggested that they had a spell to seal off of the corpse from possession by a malicious spirit. Their use as anti-vampire items is debated as only some 25 have been found and the engravings were in rough shape. Hide Wraps * Place: European, very hotly debated if older * Main Article: Some folk tales suggest that to even come into contact with a vampires blood can drive a living person mad. The use of hides in these tales is to ensure no blood sprays or splatter can touch a living person. More generally speaking, wrapping a corpse in animal hides is considered a form of Corpse Binding, tangling a vampire up and making it so they cant get up. It also falls into funeral and burial rites. In some areas wrapping up a body is just a properly respectful thing to do and leaving them off is an insult to the dead. When, exactly, these traditions were adapted into the folklore of the Undead and Vampires.... their have been arguments over this and many friendships ended. Some say that there is proof that Neanderthals and Paleolithic Homo Sapiens used hides to stop the dead from getting up. Others will literally fight you that no, it was just their proper burial rites and standard grave goods.There is no way to know for sure outside of time travel. Incantations for the Dead * Place: * Main Article: Certain prayers and rites, not necessarily said during a funeral, they can be spoken during a memorial or at any point when you are thinking of them. Some are meant to trap a vampire in it's grave, others are designed to help guide the soul into the afterlife. The particulars are widely varied and can change from town to town and decade by decade. Iron nails * Place: European and some Chinese stories * Main Article: Nails taken from a coffin, must be buried with a body for a few years, become a sort of protected charm against vampire. If every nail used to made a coffin are iron they will keep evil spirits away from the body, preventing possession of a corpse. Also in some Celtic stories, Iron can keep a vampire from escaping his or her coffin. Lovage Oil Rub Down * Place: vaguely described as "Romanian" * Main Article: One way to prevent a corpse rising as an undead is to rub it down liberally with Lovage oil before burial. Poke a Hole * Place: * Main Article: The easiest way to prevent a Strigoi from completing it's transformation from a Living Vampire to an Undead, true Vampire is to stick a pin or needle into the stomach before burial. Porridge Cure * Place: Malawi and Mozambique * Main Article: The Porridge Curse and Cure incident was an interesting story from late 2017 and 2018, spread by text message. A newborn infant who only lived for 1 hour curse every child who would live while it died. To save the youngest children from this curse parents woke up at midnight to make and feed their kids plain, no sugar, no salt, no butter, porridge before the sun rose. Potsherd INNK * Place: Poland * Main Article: INNK = Jesus Christ Conquers. A priest must write INNK on a broken piece of pottery and place it into the mouth of the corpse. This seals the body from demonic possession and prevents chewing. Prayer to Bind to the Grave * Place: * Main Article: Supplemental prayers for the dead can be found in almost every major religion and culture. Usually said on the anniversary of death/burial but the proper times for them changes given the place and practice. Sometimes the prayers to bind the body to the grave whole the spirit travels to the afterlife are included as part of the inital funeral rites. Salt * Place: * Main Article: When scattered about a coffin salt will prevent a corpse from returning as a vampire. If you use enough salt you can dry out and partially mummify the body. In some tales salt is simply a purifying agent, in others the vampire must sort and count the grains of salt. Second / Supplemental Burial * Place: * Main Article: In many parts of the world, a body is exhumed after burial, sometime within 3 to 10 years, sometimes annually, depending on the local traditions. The body is inspected for decay or the lack of, clothes are changed, sometimes they are taken to a religious service or given a symbolic dinner/meal, and then rebuild with additional blessings. If they are suspected of being an Undead, then locally appropriate steps are taken. Sharp Object on Chest * Place: Europe, Russia, UK * Main Article: Needles, skewers, spikes, thorns, daggers, tin shavings, wooded splinters... so on and so forth. Anything sharp placed on the chest before the coffin lid is closed has the potential to nip a problem in the bud. During the tossing and turning of transformation, the object will mortally injure the newborn vampire. St. Ignatius Lard * Place: * Main Article: If you are in a place that hold traditional feasts on St. Ignatius' night, October 17th, you have access to St. Ignatius Lard. Fat from a sacrificed pig is prepared and a daub of it will break most curses when applied to the living and if rubbed on a corpse, not even the devil himself can resurrect the body. Stake the grave * Place: * Main Article: Any pointed object driven into a grave is though to be enough to trap a vampire in place. Like, that little brass sunken vase by the headstone that you can put a couple flowers or a small bouquet in, for example. Stuff the Mouth * Place: * Main Article: Archaeologically provable, small stones and large pebbles are the most popular. In Italy, Greece and parts of Europe some 300 graves were found with stones in the mouth. Other items include nails, pouches of dirt, flowers, lemons (or other harsh citrus), coins, and seeds are the most common. The idea behind the belief is to prevent the corpse from chewing it's burial clothing / shourd and lacking that ability they fail to fully transform into an undead. The idea behind the stones is particularly interesting. It is meant as a 'kindness' and a sort of act of love. The gentlest way to stop one from becoming a vampire while seen in Plague Vampires it is believe that the stone is there to save the soul from becoming evil. Whiskey * Place: European * Main Article: Left at the grave or put into the coffin before burial. You must also say the words "drink this and go away and don't come home." you must not speak again, to anyone until, you enter your house. If you manage to this the vampire will bother you. If you talk to someone on the way home, the vampire may not kill you but it is free to bite you. Wool * Place: * Main Article: Depending on the tale, it's the knots in the thread, wrapped as in corpse binding, balls stuffed into the mouth, there can be thorns tangled in a natural tuft of wool. Category:List Category:Master List Category:Index